Team-BHP - Maruti Suzuki Kizashi 2.4 CVT: Test Drive and Review

Great review Sid!

Seems like a lot of folks including you have issues about the pricing of Kizashi. On the contrary I think that their pricing is consistent in all markets. One can't expect Kizashi to compete in different segments in different markets can we?

Kizashi was intended to be a sporty midsize sedan and it is positioned as such. So, in all markets it competes in the midsize segment. In india, we have a habit of considering other midsize sedans like Camry, Accord, etc. as premium or luxury - which they are not IMO. I think we are just giving too much benefit for brand value here, which is not necessary.

In the midsize segment, Kizashi is among the cheapest. And with the India-Japan free trade agreement the price could be down by the time the first delivery is made. So, we'll have to wait before passing judgement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevelle

SB: I was saying the same thing in Kizashi thread for which you won't agree, I didn't get reply from you afterwards.

Well, I did prepare a reply, but did not post it because that thread was turning into a dialogue between you and me.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevelle

It seems finally we agree on some thing in common for kizashi

Well, as consumers we always want the best at cheapest price - so there we would be in agreement. The disagreement was about which cars to compare the K against. You said it should be compared with Corolla/Civic/Jetta, while I believe it is trending more towards the Accord. I still stand by that and given that a couple of posts on this thread say that the K competes against the Accord/Camry in the US, it does not sound like an unreasonable comparison.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno (Post 2256809)

Well, I did prepare a reply, but did not post it because that thread was turning into a dialogue between you and me.:)

Well, as consumers we always want the best at cheapest price - so there we would be in agreement. The disagreement was about which cars to compare the K against. You said it should be compared with Corolla/Civic/Jetta, while I believe it is trending more towards the Accord. I still stand by that and given that a couple of posts on this thread say that the K competes against the Accord/Camry in the US, it does not sound like an unreasonable comparison.

Having driven one, i can vouch for this, it doesn't belongs to accord/camry segment in terms of space, quality, drive, performance(quite near yet far). Putting in a 2.4 L engine, avg to par-performance, pricing it near accord/camry territory can best be termed as wanna-be. Apart from that in all other areas including sales, services, availability, resale, image, it clearly falls short of accord/camry/sonata.

even the high end versions of jetta/civic/corolla runs to the base versions of accord/camry/sonata, that is approx $25k, i won't compare them with their bigger brothers. Same goes for superb and accord in India. I doubt a person considering two cards would consider a kizashi in India.

And i also felt its overpriced for what it offers in India, and many members seem to agree here including the OP. While i won't want a difference of 4 lakhs, i would certainly like to see a couple of lakhs less than current pricing. With Indo-Japan agreement, i hope that happens in near future.

Anyways, lets not compare the sizes and stick to the review. You can always PM me for that. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno (Post 2256708)

...
I like the Accord's looks, though dated now. But the current Superb from any view is plain dull. That sure ain't hampering sales.

As far as prices go, the Civic costs as below in Delhi.
Civic 1.8V MT : 1,308,500
Civic 1.8V AT : 1,382,500

Given that the K-MT and K-AT are priced at 16.5 and 17.5 lakhs respectively, if it is overpriced by 4lakhs as some members say, are you suggesting that MSIL offer a CBU car which is not only bigger & better equipped than the Civic, but will also whack it in performance, to be available at 12.5 and 13.5 lakhs respectively ie cheaper than Civic ? :Shockked:

Why stop at the Civic then ? Let us clamour for the Kizashi to be priced alongside the City.

If not for the CBU route, the K would have been cheaper by a couple of lakhs, which would have been a good thing - a price of 15lakhs and 16lakhs for the MT & AT respectively would definitely have been good. But to say that it should have been priced at Civic (or worse lower) levels does not make sense.

Good points there SB. As far as the looks are concerned, I find all the Skoda cars looking very similar and uninspiring. I too like the Honda accord. And I find the Kizashi good looking. The front could have been a little more radical though, like the first concept car.

With respect to the pricing I wish they were priced around two lakhs lower to make it affordable to more people (like enthusiastic drivers and not so much to the chauffeur driven people) . The 50% lower tax on the CKD kits would have helped Maruti to launch this at a much lower price point. But then, they also need to consider the amount of investment they would have had to make, to make the CKD route possible. May not have been an easy task considering the waiting periods for most of their models.

With respect to the interiors, the switch cluster that has the switches for the fog lamps, headlamp levelling etc. really look out of place in this car because of their design and quality and the fact that they are present even in the Swift (and may be other models as well).

I wish Maruti success with this car.

Sid,

What can I say, you continue to amaze me, man! Each review of yours is better than the previous. Your dedication & attention to detail is to be respected.

Your Kizashi review gives a better insight on the car, more than any other I've read. When I sat in the CBU Kizashi at the Auto Expo, the interior quality just blew me away (especially for a Maruti). I think Maruti's got the package right (or rather Suzuki), but they've done an "Aria". Great product, but a couple of lakhs too expensive. The Kizashi faces the same problem in the States as well; it's sales performance has been less than spectacular / predictions in the very market it was designed for. After the initial hype settles down, the Kizashi's sales will run out of steam in India too.

Rating the thread a well-deserved 5 stars.

sid's review clearly says that SuKi (Suzuki Kizashi) doesnt stack too well against an accord or the Euros (except for the powertrain). So my gut feeling is that this is gonna be a disaster for Suzuki. Should have pitted it against the old war horse Civic or atleast priced it around 14-16 lacs. To me its bad homework from Maruti. They should have done it step by step by first entering into the 10-15 lac bracket and then think of 20's and 30's.

Unfortunately for car manufacturers, the better guys are with team-bhp (like sid, gto etc :thumbs up).

Someday we can imagine team-bhp venturing into car manufacturing clap:

Personally I feel, Suki is a Sx4 'hangover'!!!

Sid, You have done it again. I was eagerly awaiting a Team BHP review on this car. I was pleasantly surprised to see you beat the big Daddies of Team BHP to this review. A 5 star rating (though not enough to justify the quality of this review).

You have thrown in a lot of details on the exterior, interiors and the drive. This definitely is a giant leap for Maruti. Your version of this being the best engine in its class is what is attracting me to this car. However, a package is great only when the price is equally attractive. I personally feel, the product is great. However, the overall size, brand image will peg it below the Accord and Superb. Having said that 16.5L is not very expensive for the product, but it would be been perfect had it been priced at 15L ex showroom for the Manual. I am also waiting to lay hands on one for a test drive.

A 5-star review and some splendid pictures of the car. Good work Sid! The Kizashi does look like a beast with those 17" alloys and the aggressive front grill. Enough has been said about the engine. It surely sounds like a stonker. Being a CBU spoils the pricing to an extent. Hopefully, MUL will look at the CKD route which will not only make the car cheaper but an ideal VFM prospect. A diesel option in the future would be an icing on the cake.

Awesome!! well done sidindica! :Cheering:

Just 3 colours? one bright colour is a must!!

nice rear end and well integrated exhaust!

the exteriors are quiet understated. IMO lacks the punch for the price bracket.
The dash is a nice dual tone. The rest of the interiors are too much of beige for my liking!Awesome list of equipment! makes the can seem worth the money! on the flip side some of the features excluded are simply disappointing!
seems like a good overall package! how it goes down with the consumers is to be seen!

Fantastic review, much better than what a video review may have provided. IMO, Photos+Narration is still the best mode of putting forward a technical review. Great job Sidindica. (Were you a former Indica owner?)

With regards the growing noise about its' pricing - isnt it a double edged sword really? Suzuki prices it lower, and gets tagged cheap. It decides to launch a car truly manufactured outside India, and gets tagged over-priced.

Guess numero unos always have to live with criticism.

As regards the car itself, its' perched right at the top in my upgrade list, and I could not have been happier seeing such a wonderful product from a company which gives me peace of mind when I need the most - service times.

If there was any change desired, after local production , I'll be happy to see a low powered engine, that will give me 9-10 km/l. Everything else is absolutely down my alley.